Alienware Laptops get “Killer” Wireless

The entire Alienware lineup is getting a faster wireless option, courtesy of Bigfoot Networks’ “Killer” Wireless-N 1103, which improves speed, reduces latency and adds a number of other proprietary technologies that might be well-suited to gaming laptops. All four of the current Alienware laptops will have this optional upgrade,  including the M18x, M17x, M14x and M11x R3. This adds $80 to the price tag and for that you get wireless speeds of up to 450Mbps, provided you have an N-compatible router capable of delivering the speed boost.

Other than 450Mbps throughput, Bigfoot Networks’ Killer 1103 features a proprietary technology called Advanced Stream Detect, which apparently automatically detects and prioritizes latency-sensitive traffic such as gaming, high-resolution video and voice calls. Another selling point is something called Visual Bandwidth Control–an application that gives the user some additional control over their bandwidth by allocating upload/download priority on a per-application basis. You should, for example, be able to make sure that your online games get sufficient bandwidth, or tune it for streaming HD video.

Here are the key features, straight from the press release:

• Advanced Stream Detect: Automatically classifies and
  prioritizes online games, HD video and high-quality audio for fewer
  interruptions and a better online experience.
• Visual Bandwidth Control: Enables users to see which
  applications are hogging bandwidth and tune allocations for each so
  they don’t interfere with online games, video or multimedia
  applications, allowing users to do more online tasks simultaneously.
• PC Monitor: Monitor and manage wireless laptop PC health and
  performance with graphical displays and detailed logging via an
  intuitive user interface.
• Cutting-Edge 11n Performance: Up to 5X better latency than leading
  competitors and enhanced rate-over-range performance, with 3-stream
  MIMO enabling industry-leading data rates of up to 450Mbps for higher
  data throughput over longer distances.

Whether this will be a hit with consumers remains to be seen. Obviously Dell and Bigfoot Networks seem fairly certain that it will, but shelling out an extra $80 for better wireless is a little on the steep side and might be a tough sell. On the other hand, the overall speed improvements and added control over the wireless circuitry certainly has some geek appeal.